Why did King Charles III pick the name 'Charles'?

King Charles III is the new monarch of the United Kingdom. Unless you’ve literally been living under a rock for the last week, you're bound to know that already.

But what you might not know is the person to replace Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t necessarily called King Charles III.

Let me explain.

It was always going to be the same guy. There isn’t a secret older child of Elizabeth II called Larry hanging around waiting to claim the crown.

Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor was destined for the throne from the day he was born. But the name he’d take when it was finally his turn to wear the crown wasn’t definite.

A monarch’s name isn’t automatically their first name.

While his mother went with her first name, previous monarchs have opted otherwise. The previous monarch, King George VI, was called Albert. George was one of his middle names.

Similarly, Queen Victoria’s actual first name was Alexandria and had Victoria as a middle name. King Charles III could have done likewise and picked a middle name as his monarchical title.

King Philip might have been a nice tribute to his father and King George would have continued a tradition with his grandfather, George VI. Choosing King Arthur might have one too many associations with fighting off dragons for a man who first sat on the throne aged 73.

So Charles went with… Charles.

No big surprises there, really. But by going for his first name, he’s decided to usher in a new era for Britain. The Second Elizabethan era has been replaced by the Third Carolean Age.

Well, it might be known as that.

Charles I’s reign is generally referred to as the Caroline Era, while Charles II’s reign is called the Carolean Era. Both derived from ‘Carolus’ the Latin for Charles.

Regardless of how the Latin fans decide